Crimson Desert Appears More Average on Standard PS5

Suspicion was growing around Crimson Desert as anticipation built for this action-adventure title from Pearl Abyss, a spin-off of 2016’s Black Desert Online. While the stunning PC footage generated significant excitement, console gamers noticed a lack of any gameplay showcased on Xbox or PS5. Recently, we got a glimpse of 20 minutes of gameplay on a standard PS5, and it’s clear why the developers were holding back. It’s not that the game is bad; it’s just more conventional than expected.

Digital Foundry stepped in to debunk the notion that the viral clips were misleading, providing their own footage sourced directly from the developers. This footage, captured on high-end hardware at “Ultra” settings, still showcased the game’s breathtaking visuals, but it didn’t require cutting-edge tech—its GPU, while powerful, is four years old. Yet, details about console performance remained elusive.

Just nine days before the game’s March 19 launch, the studio finally revealed the specs for both PC and consoles. It turns out that while the game can run on surprisingly modest PC setups, the PS5 and Xbox Series X will be aiming lower. In Performance mode, both consoles will target 1080p at 60 FPS with ray tracing set to “low,” while the Quality mode will upscale to 4K but limit the framerate to 30 FPS. The Xbox Series S will struggle even more, managing only 720p in Performance mode and barely reaching 1080p at best. The PS5 Pro does a bit better, achieving native 4K at 30 FPS and upscaled 4K at 60 FPS in Performance mode.

These technical specifications can yield vastly different experiences depending on the game. Now, just two days before launch, we’ve seen the game in action on a standard PS5, thanks to a recent upload from a Japanese outlet.

It would be unfair to say the game looks bad; it certainly resembles a typical PS5 title. However, it doesn’t match the jaw-dropping visuals of the earlier PC footage that fueled the hype. Compounding the issue, Sony uploaded the video at only 1080p, leading to noticeable compression artifacts on YouTube. The game might look sharper in person, and it’s worth noting that YouTube’s 4K option exists for a reason.

This situation is understandable. We’re over five years into this console generation, and it’s around this time that developers often start to push the boundaries set by PC advancements. It can be frustrating for console players to watch their systems age while PC gamers continue to upgrade their rigs, but this is a familiar cycle.

However, it’s somewhat questionable to withhold the actual console visuals until so close to release, a lesson CD Projekt Red learned the hard way six years ago. Fortunately, the new footage suggests we’re not facing a similar catastrophe, just a game that looks more average on consoles. If the gameplay lives up to the excitement generated by the previews, this shouldn’t be a major concern, though it’s a letdown given the initial hype surrounding its graphical capabilities.